Mads Pedersen won’t say it, but we will: take Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel out of the frame – two generational talents operating in different stratospheres to the rest of the peloton – and Pedersen is the best cyclist in the world at the moment.
So far in 2025, Lidl-Trek’s stalwart has raced 22 days, in return he’s picked up five wins, two points jerseys, one GC victory, finished second at the Tour of Flanders, third at Paris-Roubaix, and now twice gone into the lead of the Giro d’Italia, winning his second stage in three days, beating Corbin Strong in a sprint in Vlorë, the Giro’s final host town of its stint in Albania.
And just like how he had to work hard for victory on stage one, passing over a moderately difficult climb 10km from the finish, on stage three, he had to work even harder, ensuring that he stayed with the front group over the much tougher second-category climb of Qafa e Llogarasë. Most riders capable of winning bunch sprints wouldn’t get over it, and Pedersen admitted that “I was in doubt when you looked at the stage before – I thought I would be on the limit”. But like every other obstacle this year, he did manage to overcome it, and then he still had the reserves, speed and power to finish the job off in Vlorë.
Except on the hard mountain stages, there are very, very few bike riders who are able to better Pedersen right now. Is he in the shape of his life? “You guys [the press] say this every time a rider performs well in a long period that they’re in the shape of their life,” the Dane, 29, said, preferring to be modest. “I’m in really good shape, and we managed to carry it on from the Classics to now, so I can’t complain.
“What I want to say also is that we have to take into account that these stages fit me really well – they’re suited for me and are easier to show what I’m good at. If we had started with one flat sprint and I finished fifth, maybe we wouldn’t have talked about my shape, and it would have looked completely different, but these three days in Albania have suited me really well.”
Deflecting attention is how you’d summarise that answer. But the reality is, Pedersen keeps riding back into the spotlight: the last time he finished outside of the top-10 in a race that he had ambitions of winning was last September’s World Championships, when he rolled in to the finish in 13th place. Everything is clicking into place for the former world champion.
“One thing is that we have our team manager back with us full-time after we didn’t see him for years due to sickness,” Pedersen said, referencing Luca Guercilena’s recovery from cancer. “We have one guy back in control, dealing with pressure, and how he deals with everyone and the staff makes a difference. We also have more people in the team, more training camps, and every small detail is looked into: bikes, aerodynamics, clothing; everything is suited more to each rider. Maybe before a coach had 10 riders, but now they have six or seven riders, and it gives everyone less stress and more commitment to each rider. It makes a big difference.”
Ever the thankful leader, Pedersen paid tribute to Giulio Ciccone after his stage one work, and this time he singled out Mathias Vacek, the race’s current leader of its youth classification. “Vacek is absolutely amazing – this kid has a big future,” Pedersen predicted. “He showed it again today what he’s able to do and we have to watch out that we don’t put a lock on this guy. He can win a lot of bike races, I tell you, and I will do everything I can to make it possible for him to win a stage. He was there for me throughout all of the Classics and he is a machine. I’m so proud that this guy is able to ride for me.”
The narrative around Pedersen during the Spring Classics was how unfortunate he was to be competing in the era of Pogačar and Van der Poel, for without those two, he would surely have several Monuments to his name. Now’s not the time to bring that back up, though, instead, it’s time to saviour a bike rider operating at the peak of his powers. Just don’t ask him whether he thinks it or not.
